Now these are the laws of the navy Unwritten and varied though they be And he who is wise will observe them When down in his ship to the sea As naught can outrun a destroyer Even so with he law and it's grip From the strength of the ship is the service And the strength of the service the ship Take heed what thee sayest of they seniors Be thy words whispered softly and low Lest the birds on the air pass it onwards And thy seniors thy burden shall know When thy labourest from morn until even And yet meetest with reproof for thy toil Is it wise that thy gun should stay silent Thy compressor must check thy recoil And count no upon a certain promotion To the office to which you may aspire Though thy sight-line may zero on the target There cometh the chance of misfire And take heed in thy manor of speaking That the language thou useth by sound In the list of the words of thy choosing Impossible must not be found Now these are the laws of the navy And many and mighty are they But they boil down to one small commandment That commandment is thou shalt obey